Who

Wrong of Way

It’s part of my philosophy on this site to
avoid the use of profanity. I’m making an exception today, as I relate an
absolutely true verbal exchange I had driving in to work today.

Driving through Schenley Park, I passed a guy on a bicycle. This isn’t
unusual. It turns out that in my country, people sometimes ride bikes, and
often they ride them in parks. The guy was riding in the right hand lane, with
traffic, fairly close to the curb. Just as I get past him, I hear a
blaaaaaaaaaaarn of a loud horn. I look around to see if I’ve killed someone,
and behind me is a huge Expedition-sized SUV. He’s honking at the biker. There
is a completely empty lane to the SUV driver’s left. I keep an eye on my rear-
view mirror to watch the situation develop. Sure enough, SUV Guy decides that
Bike Guy has somehow offended him by existing. He gets in front of the biker,
and proceeds to start weaving slowly in front of him, blocking his attempts to
pass, sticking his hand out the window when Bike Guy gets close, yelling at
him, and generally acting like a jerk.

This starts making me mad: the SUV Guy isn’t just putting himself and Bike Guy
in danger, he’s putting the rest of us on the road at risk as well. I get up
to the traffic light, which is red, and I can’t take it anymore. I put on my
hazards, get out of the car, and shout at the top of my lungs at SUV guy, who
is about 50 feet away:

“Hey, asshole in the SUV – knock it off before I call the cops.”

SUV guy looks up, surprised. He speeds up a little and pulls up next to me.
Convinced that I just don’t understand the situation, SUV guy decides to
explain why he’s acting like an asshole:

“He coulda killed someone! He’s in the road!“

I gaped at him for a few seconds, before calmly explaining
shouting at the top of my lungs:

The biker glided past, gave me a nod, and went on his way. I got back in my
car just as the light turned green.

Now, typically when you hear a story like this, it’s from the perspective of a
bike rider. Co-author psu is an avid rider,
for example, and I’m sure he has many similar stories to tell. The wrinkle, in
this case, is, well, I don’t really like bike riding. I find it irritating and
boring. I view wanting to ride a bike without an engine as a character flaw,
akin to preferring white wine to red, or only wanting to eat at chain
restaurants, or enjoying large weddings. In a world where according to a
simple “us vs. them” philosophy I should have sided with the SUV guy, I did
the right thing and stood up. For great justice!

So, bicyclists: you owe me one. The next time you see one of your compatriots
run a red light, or nearly mow down a pedestrian, or thuggishly swing a bike
lock at someone who they believe has committed some completely imaginary
slight, call him on it. Don’t let him get away with it just because he’s a
fellow bike rider. Stand up for what’s right.